Lying to a Telepath
by 00Esmeralda00
Summary: Set after S1 finale. AU from Season 2. When a new crew member with a more than questionable past joins the USS Discovery, it makes life on the ship difficult for one person, and strains various relationships on board.
1. Chapter 1

As Commander Saru walked through the prison base, his threat ganglia were on high alert. He was acutely aware of the immense number of violent and deadly criminals surrounding him and was fighting every evolutionary instinct to get as far from this horrid place as possible. When he was told of this new mission five days ago, he was immediately sceptical, as were Commanders Burnham and Stamets (both of whom were accompanying him); however, their new Captain, Pike did not share their understandable hesitation and misgivings, leading to the uncomfortable position all three found themselves in. He looked to his right at his fellow officers and wondered if they felt the same as he had the past few days.

Michael Burnham and Paul Stamets had indeed been feeling a similar strain, none of them had felt comfortable lying to a fellow crew member and friend, but it had been stressed to all three of them by Pike that Ensign Sylvia Tilly's ignorance was paramount to the mission's initial success. As her roommate and direct superior respectively, Michael and Paul had had to watch themselves even more that Saru; as they spent a considerably greater amount of time with the young junior officer.

 **Five Days Earlier**

 _Computer: First Officer Saru, Science Officer Burnham and Lieutenant Stamets, please report to captain's ready room, thank you._

 _Michael and Tilly were in the cafeteria after a shift when they heard the computer._

" _Go, I'll bring something back to the room for you," Tilly told her friend, smiling. Michael thanked her and proceeded to the direction of the bridge. Saru and Stamets were already there when she arrived, waiting with Captain Pike._

" _Ah, Burnham. Well, we're all here, so let's get started. Please all of you, take a seat." Michael sat at one of the seats at the captain's table, looking at her colleagues, and relieved to see that they were equally perplexed at the summoning._

" _What is this about, Captain?" Michael asked._

" _I received communication from command today, requesting us to take a on a prisoner as a member of our crew, after evidence recently came to light regarding their case, which effected their sentencing. We're to collect them from Earth in five days and I'd like the three of you to go."_

" _Of course, sir," Michael answered. Stamets echoed her, whilst Saru looked uncomfortable, but nodded anyway._

" _Good. This mission is considered classified though and as such, the rest of the crew will be told that Command has requested an in-person meeting with me on Earth and you are all accompanying me. I will brief you further in three days. Do not speak of your assignment to anyone else until I say otherwise." All three of them nodded. "Excellent. That's all." Saru, Michael and Paul all exited, wondering what kind of prisoner would be able to join their crew, but doing so would be classified._

Michael's sense of uneasiness slowly increased as they walked, making her concentrate on her breathing to calm herself. Although they had been advised to keep their emotive responses to a minimum, there was still a nervous expectancy; something she sensed Stamets shared and judging by Saru's ganglia, he was more uncomfortable than the others.

Upon arrival in Earth's orbit Pike, Michael, Stamets and Saru had beamed down to the Starfleet command centre and the latter three had made their way to a prison facility an hour away. When they reached their true destination, they had to surrender their phasers be given trackers before entering the facility proper. This is when Saru's threat ganglia appeared, something which both Paul and Michael understood completely.

 **Two Days Earlier**

 _Saru, Burnham and Stamets had all been summoned to the ready room again, as they had expected, ready to be briefed fully on their impending mission. Pike pulled up a prisoner file, which made all three officers take a breath in, looking to their captain in surprise._

 _Paul Stamets was the first to speak. "Is this right Captain?" He looked at his superior incredulously._

" _I'm afraid it is Lieutenant. You're looking at the file for our newest crew member," Captain Pike replied, sadly._

" _This is a murder charge, sir. How is she able to serve on Starfleet?" Saru's threat ganglia peeked out slightly as he asked this._

" _Five years ago, she pled guilty to murder and subsequently received a ten-year sentence without parole. Six months ago, a woman came forward after hearing about the case and provided evidence against the victim regarding his past, claiming she suffered severe violence at his hand. Upon a further review of the case, our convict was questioned again, this time regarding her motives and after being told of the other woman's testimony, revealed it was in self-defence. Since she was in fact guilty of killing the man, the federation couldn't overturn her sentence; however, all agreed that she shouldn't be incarcerated for the full ten years taking into consideration this new information. It was eventually decided that she serve the remainder of her sentence in Starfleet, where she can be monitored closely, yet still have some semblance of freedom and normality. She shall be serving as an Engineering Specialist."_

" _Why this ship, sir? Surely there are more appropriate places for her to serve," Michael enquired of her Captain, already foreseeing the inevitable problems and conflict to come._

" _I am aware of your concerns Burnham, and why you have them, but rest assured, I would not have agreed to this if I didn't believe it safe for all involved." The three officers seemed unconvinced, but voiced their compliance anyway, trusting their captain's judgement anyway. "I expect you all to continue to respect and abide by the classified and sensitive nature of this mission still." Pike looked at each of his officers. "Our new addition is also a high-level empath and low-level telepath, so I would advise you all to watch your emotional reactions."_

The three commanders came to a stop outside a room in the prison.

"Wait here," a guard informed them. He went into the room and left them with the two other guards who had been escorting the officers. None of them spoke and they all knew the others felt the same trepidation. The door opened once again, and they were escorted inside.

They were faced with a woman in her late twenties, short, with long dark hair pulled back into a bun and piercing green eyes. She was dressed in an inmate jumpsuit, something which Michael was all too familiar with and cuffed at both wrists and feet. When she saw them, she closed her eyes momentarily, almost in discomfort, then opened them again, a wry smile playing across her face.

"Why so scared, I don't bite. Well, I haven't recently," her voice was both cold and warm, and Stamets found the sardonic humour marred with genuine sadness. Saru's threat ganglia were fully exposed and atop that he looked fully alarmed; as though it was taking physical effort for him to not flee. Michael didn't know how to react to the woman and used her Vulcan upbringing to remain as neutral as possible. Her feet were uncuffed and her custody was handed over to Saru, much to his obvious displeasure.

Beyond her initial statement, Discovery's new specialist said nothing on the journey to Starfleet, but Michael noticed the pleasure and relief on her new colleague's face as they exited the prison facility. Despite still being handcuffed and in her prison uniform, both Stamets and Burnham noticed the slight, but clear change in her body language, making it clear to both officers that the woman hadn't been outside in years, and they exchanged a look that they both understood.

Upon arriving at the Starfleet Earth Command Centre, the new Engineering Specialist stiffened again, just as Saru's threat ganglia retreated, a sign that he felt safer and less afraid. All four of them entered, where they were joined by two guards. They entered a small room where the woman was uncuffed, and a monitoring bracelet placed on her left wrist, covering a small tattoo. She was handed a Starfleet uniform and insignia, and before any of the officers could leave the room to provide privacy, she started to change her clothing, clearly not expecting any privacy to begin with. Both Saru and Stamets averted their eyes, but Michael saw as the woman removed her inmate jumpsuit and revealed not only several more tattoos, varying in colour and size; but also scars and bruises in various states of healing, mostly on her torso. She caught Michael's eye and Michael looked away quickly, but not before glimpsing that same, wry smile.

Once fully dressed, all six people, the three officers, their new Engineering Specialist and the two guards made their way to the transporter bay, where they were met by Captain Pike. He shook the woman's hand and smiled in a polite, yet welcoming manner.

"Discovery, five to transport," Captain Pike said, and they were all beamed aboard. The three senior officers made their way out of the transporter room aboard the Discovery, all feeling somewhat jarred by the whole experience.

Captain Pike turned to his new specialist. "Welcome to Discovery, Specialist Tilly."


	2. Chapter 2

**Five and a Half Years Ago**

 _Katrina Tilly stood in a containment cell in the courtroom. There were about twenty people in total in the room, waiting to hear to judge's sentence. She had already pled guilty, so there was no trial. After all, she had been the one to call the police herself. She looked around the room and her eyes stopped when she spotted her mother and sister. Sylvia. She just stared at the mess of red curls, feeling her kid sister's grief and anger, like a tsunami. It was almost too much to bear. Katrina closed her eyes and reached out with her mind, knowing that not only would this likely be the last time for many years that she would be able to do this, but that it was also likely her sister wouldn't acknowledge her presence._

 _*Sylvie?* There was no answer. *Sylvie, I'm so sorry. Please, you don't need to answer, but please, I'm begging you, look at me.* Sylvia Tilly raised her head, but did not acknowledge her sister's message._

 _The intensity of her anger was almost crushing Katrina, and what made it worse was that she knew it was directed towards her. The 17-year-old wasn't angry at the judge, she wasn't even angry at their mother, every ounce of anger and grief she could hold was directed at the woman mentally pleading with her to look at her one last time, before she was locked away for what could be the rest of her life._

 _Katrina hadn't told anyone the details of what had happened. She had murdered her friend, to her that was all that mattered. Her mother and Sylvia had begged her to tell them the truth about it all; Sylvia had even tried to use their connection to find out, but Katrina had locked her out. All she would tell them was that she was sorry she would be leaving them, which was true. But she wasn't sorry that she did it. She was sorry that his family had lost a son. She was sorry that she wouldn't be there to see her sister graduate from the Academy and would no longer be able to tell her that her hair was incredible, special and unique like her, no matter what their mother said. She was sorry that she had to break her girlfriend's heart. But beyond all of that, Katrina was sorry that she couldn't bring herself to tell anyone all of what happened. She knew that she could handle the emotions of hate and anger from those who knew what she'd done. But if they knew it all, Katrina knew she couldn't handle the intensity of emotions that would bring._

 _The judge entered, looking solemn, knowing her fate was in his hands. Katrina didn't even try to feel his emotions; all her attention was on Sylvia. She felt her sister's panic rise and tried to tell her it would all be fine. Again, there was no answer, but she hadn't been locked out of the girl's head, so Katrina knew she was listening. Then the sentence came. Ten years without parole. Suddenly, the grief drowned out the anger in her sister's mind and a scream, unheard by the rest of the room rang through loud, piercing and agonising through Katrina's head and she saw Sylvia's face, tears streaming down her face uncontrollably._

 _*Sylvie. Sylvie, I love you. I love you so much. Remember, you're so much stronger than you think, so much stronger than Mum gives you credit for. You will be an amazing captain someday.* Katrina couldn't hold herself together anymore and tears started flowing at an unprecedented rate down her face. She knew she wouldn't she either of them for a decade, at least, she'd already told her mother not to let Sylvia visit once the sentencing was over, knowing that she needed to go and follow her dream in Starfleet._

 _Her eyes shifted to her mother, stoic and unmoving, but her pain rang through to Katrina, clear as a bell. Her mother looked back at her, and although they had never been able to communicate the way she and her sister could, Katrina knew what her mother was trying to tell her, and she mouthed 'I love you' at the woman who'd given up so much for her daughters. A single tear escaped her mother's eyes as she tried to move her younger daughter._

 _Sylvia wouldn't move. Katrina watched as her tried to drag her sister out of the bench and room. Sylvia gave in and got up. Then she turned to face Katrina dead on, pain and anger and pure devastation pulsing throughout her entire body._

 _*I love you. I don't want to leave you,* Sylvia's voice came through as both a whisper and a cry._

 _*I know. But you need to. You need to become a captain of a Starfleet ship; you need to be amazing. I will always love you, but you know I need to be punished for this. I love you my beautiful sister. Goodbye.* Katrina and Sylvia kept eye contact for as long as possible as their mother led her out._

 _Once the door had closed, Katrina dropped to the floor and let out a cry that made the whole room feel her pain and grief at leaving her little sister alone in the world. She only stopped when a guard came and pulled her up, but the tears kept flowing as she was taken to the prison and continued until she fell asleep. She wept nearly constantly for a week straight, her little sister's pain staying with her long after she could feel and her thoughts._

 **Discovery**

Katrina materialised aboard the Starfleet vessel, feeling slightly queasy, although that might've been the officers around her reacting to her presence onboard. The captain, Pike, welcomed her and suddenly lost her balance. The captain grabbed her, and she instinctively pulled away. She could feel no malice towards her from him, something she hadn't felt in a long time, but her reaction was the same regardless. The last five years had changed her almost entirely, but she now felt a presence she hadn't felt in all that time. Sylvia.

"You okay?" The captain asked, concern on his face and in his mind.

"Yes Captain, I'm fine. I just need some rest if that's okay, sir." He nodded and she was escorted to a different deck by a crewman, to her quarters; which had been informed she would not be sharing, something Katrina understood.

After being left alone, she asked the computer, "Computer, search Ship's Manifest – Tilly, Sylvia," she collapsed on the bed and the computer answered.

Computer: "Tilly, Sylvia. Rank, Ensign."

"Oh fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck! Jesus Christ! Seriously?!" She opened her mind up and searched through the emotional noise until she found the same emotional signature that had first surprised her. It was Sylvia, all right. All at once she felt incredibly happy, nervous, craving caffeine. "So, she's picked up my old habit. Interesting." Katrina was careful not to encroach into her sister's mind; even though she didn't know if the telepathic connection was still alive, Katrina didn't want to risk alerting Sylvia to her presence, something which, according to her emotions, was something her sister was unaware of.

The next two days went by too fast. Katrina pretty much stuck to her routine that she had in prison; working out, practicing her combat skills, only leaving her quarters to go to the cafeteria, eating quickly and alone, and to go to medical for a sleep aid, as she was unable to sleep on the quiet ship without one. She knew she would be working in Engineering and on her third day on the ship Lieutenant Stamets arrived at her quarters to escort her, as she didn't know the way. They said nothing, however Katrina felt his uncomfortableness and trepidation. They entered the engine room and immediately Katrina was caught off-guard again by her sister's emotions, causing her to hold on to the railing for stability. She looked at the room and immediately saw her sister, now a 22-year-old woman, looking confident and strong, wild red hair pulled back into a tight bun. This was what was making her so happy.

Sylvia Tilly looked up to see Commander Stamets looking uneasy, then saw the woman standing next to him and a whole host of emotions flooded through her before she could even think.

Katrina saw the sister look at her, then everything from anger, to grief, confusion, panic and guilt, but predominantly anger took hold of her.

"Shit," was all she could say before a loud ringing filled her head and she passed out.


	3. Chapter 3

Ensign Sylvia Tilly sat in sickbay, looking at her sister. Katrina had been mostly unconscious for nearly 24 hours, and each time she awoke she became violent. She'd been sedated and had a containment field around her; but was obviously still in distress. The young officer had a theory as to why her sister had passed out, that her sudden rush of emotions had overloaded Katrina's brain and made it shut down. The brain scan on the screen showed regular brain patterns in all but her limbic system, which was going haywire. She realised that she hadn't slept last night, so decided to go to her quarters and get some rest. She debated telling her mother about Katrina being out of prison but thought better of it. No matter what she felt towards her sister, that was something Sylvia couldn't take from her.

Sylvia was woken up when Burnham came into their shared quarters. She looked distressed.

"Hey, what's wrong? You look worried about something," Tilly enquired of her friend.

"Nothing, I'm fine. Just something with Saru, you know," Burnham replied. Tilly didn't quite believe her, but didn't want to push, so she just nodded. "How about you? I haven't seen you in a while," Michael looked at her, concerned.

Tilly looked at the older agent, deciding to tell her. "Well, it turns out that my sister's on board the Discovery. I have no idea how, because she's supposed to be in prison on Earth for another four and a half years," she looked to her friend, who looked away. "Wait, what? Did you know about this?" Burnham nodded. Tilly bolted upright. "How the hell could you not tell me?!"

"We were under orders not to say anything. To anyone."

"We?" Tilly thought for a moment. "Hang on, when we were in geo-stationary orbit around earth. You went down with the Captain, Commander Saru and Stamets. Is that when it happened?" Michael nodded again. "When did you find out?"

"Five days before. That was why we were summoned to the ready room."

"My God. I need to take a walk." She left Burnham in the room and just started walking. She didn't know where. Before she knew it, she found herself outside the engine room. She entered and immediately found Stamets' gaze. He looked ashamed, obviously having realised that she'd worked it out by now. She made her way down and looked at him.

"I'm sorry. I wanted to tell you. But the mission was classified," he seemed genuinely remorseful, but she was still pissed off at him.

"How the hell is she even on the ship?!"

"Her sentence was adjusted due to new evidence."

"What evidence?"

"I don't know." She scoffed at him. "I really don't. We weren't told. I honestly, I don't really want to know. She's… unnerving."

Tilly was now confused. "What do you mean, unnerving?"

Stamets briefly looked away, trying to figure out how to explain it. He didn't want to hurt the young Ensign any more. "Um, she didn't really talk, but it was like she could she right through us."

"Yeah, she's an empath. That's kind of the whole thing." Tilly stared at her superior officer, expectantly, needing a further explanation.

"But it was more than that. Almost like she found our discomfort amusing. She said, what was it? 'I don't bite, well, I haven't recently'. The way she looked at us, it was like she was dissecting us, as though we were her prey. Her eyes were cold, and Burnham said she was covered in bruises and scars on her torso. She expected no privacy; it reminded me almost of a wild animal that had been broken and tamed."

Tilly looked at him, slightly horrified. "Oh my…" she trailed off and walked out, leaving him standing there watching after her sadly. She didn't return to sickbay, or her quarters, instead she went to the mess hall and got herself an espresso.

Katrina awoke, gasping. There was a ringing in her ears and her mind felt foggy. It took her a few moments to realise that she was in sickbay, and that she was sedated and restrained. She started to panic, flashing back to prison and solitary confinement. A doctor realised she was awake and released her restraints, but she was still in a containment field, and instinct took over as she tried to break it, the sedation stopping her from realising it wouldn't work. She heard various medical staff telling her to calm down, saw the distressed looks on their faces, but the sedation was numbing her to their emotions. She tired quickly and slowly realised what was happening. There was still a loud ringing in her ears and the fog in her mind turned into a headache, reminding her of being hungover, something she hadn't experienced in a long time. She started to remember what happened, seeing Sylvia, feeling a sudden intensity of anger and betrayal, then nothing. She sat back down on the bed and addressed the doctor.

"Let me out," She looked at the doctor, trying to figure out what she was feeling; the sedation and throbbing headache stopping her from knowing.

"I can't do that Specialist. We haven't determined what caused your collapse, and you've been unconscious for nearly 24 hours, with short periods of violence when you woke."

"I know what caused it, and I know how to stop it from happening again. I just can't be held like this. I need to be let go, preferably before the drugs wear off and I start to feel the emotions of the entire sickbay. I'm already wearing a monitoring bracelet," she held up her wrist. Katrina glared at the doctor, and eventually, she sighed.

"Fine, but you need to come back in 24 hours. If you don't, or it happens again, I'll be recommending confinement to either quarters or here." Katrina nodded and the doctor de-activated the containment field. Katrina dressed quickly and went to the mess hall, suddenly hungry, but still with ringing in her ears and that awful headache.

Katrina entered the mess hall and clocked Sylvia immediately, sitting facing away from her. The redhead didn't notice her sister until she spoke.

"Triple pancake stack with maple-cured bacon with maple syrup, black triple espresso with 2 sugars and smooth orange juice," Sylvia Tilly shot up at the sound of her sister's voice. She watched as Katrina took her food and sat on the opposite side of the room. The two locked eyes. "What?" Katrina asked before taking a mouthful of food.

The ensign scoffed and returned to her own coffee. The two sat in silence, Katrina eating, Sylvia trying not to look back at her sister again. She failed and moved to sit at the same table as her. Katrina continued as though she'd stayed where she was. After finishing her food, Katrina addressed her younger sister again. "You gonna say something? Or just stare at me?" she asked coldly.

Sylvia Tilly looked at her sister, feeling as though she was sat across from a stranger. The harsh edge in Katrina's voice took her by surprise and the look in her eyes reminded her of what Commander Stamets had said, 'like a wild animal, broken'. She wanted to say so many things to her sister, the woman who had once, so long ago been her protector, idol and who knew everything about her. Instead of asking her sister how she was out of prison, she simply said "Have you told Mom you're out of prison?" The response she received was not what the junior officer expected.

"Why? I've gone from being locked in a cage on earth, to tagged and monitored on a starship I can't leave in space with my sister whose emotions are so intense they cause my brain to shut down. I've traded one prison for another essentially." She took a long drink of her orange juice whilst Sylvia spoke.

"How are you out of sickbay?"

"I told them I knew what was caused it and how to stop it happening again."

"Really?"

"Really."

"If my emotions are what caused you to pass out, how are you okay now?"

"I'm still technically sedated. The combo of that, the throbbing headache and the really loud ringing in my ears is taking up all the room in my head, so there's no space for you right now." Katrina finished her juice and coffee, then went back to the dispenser.

"Bottle of vodka and a bottle of tequila," Sylvia looked at her sister in shock.

"Why the hell are you about to drink that?" Katrina smirked at her outrage.

"I'm not. I told medical I knew how to stop it from happening again and I meant it. Mind-altering substances numb my limbic system. I thought you were the smart one? Anyway, if you would excuse me," she took the alcohol, "I have to see a man about my shifts."

Katrina left, leaving Sylvia Tilly staring after her, wondering how her sister became so cold and unfeeling.


	4. Chapter 4

Katrina Tilly explained her situation to the head of Engineering and managed to have her work shifts changed so that they didn't overlap with Sylvia's. By then, the sedation was wearing off and Katrina began to become aware of the emotions of the people on the ship. With her new shift pattern, Katrina found herself with 10 hours until her next shift, so she decided to sleep in her bed for a while. She'd also concluded that she'd better wait a full shift cycle before starting her 'self-medication', seeing as she wasn't fully aware of everything that she would be doing aboard the starship, beyond fixing things.

As it turned out, that's all she was doing. For the first week, Katrina had managed to go about her work on the ship, and personal business without ever running into her sister, and without having to drink to numb other people's emotions. She spent most of her time alone, which suited her fine. She'd grown impatient, mistrusting and generally tired with people over the years, and they didn't appreciate her knowing their feelings. It was, for her at least, a rather harmonic and pleasant arrangement, not least because she found it amusing how people's uneasiness increased whenever she entered a room.

Sickbay still wanted her to have regular check-ups, which slightly irritated her, but she put up with it. What she'd said to Sylvia was true, she felt like she'd traded one prison for another, but at least on this one she was able to begin to feel like a real person again. She didn't feel like being confined for the simple reason of missing an exam.

There was one person that Katrina really didn't want to be around that always seemed to show up when she was not in the mood. One arsehole in Engineering, a specialist too, that always wanted to get a reaction out of her. He didn't know too much about her and her past, thank god, or that would be another story. Whilst on jobs around the ship, other crew members had noticed his behaviour, and never said anything. He genuinely made her skin crawl with how he looked at her, like a piece of meat, which Katrina could also feel. She'd nearly thrown up out of disgust more than once.

It was at the end of a particularly crappy shift that had ended with Katrina being covered in what could best be described as blue goo, that something happened. After showering, twice, Katrina made her way to the mess hall and after sitting wither her food, alone as usual, she noticed him staring at her, the disturbing smirk that she'd become familiar with, across his face. She felt something different in his demeanour today, though. He felt more confident, and gleefully happy, like he knew a secret. _Oh, shit_ , Katrina thought. _He knows something_.

He came over and sat opposite her, with Katrina actively trying to ignore him. "I heard something today," Katrina stared straight ahead. People were glancing over. "I heard that you're not quite human." She balled her hands into fists under the table. "Apparently, you're an Empath, you can feel other people's feelings. So, what I want to ask you is, what am I feeling, right now?" He smirked at her. She felt his desire for her, her familiar reaction of disgust, and the gut-wrenching fight-flight-freeze reflex that had been all too common whilst Katrina was incarcerated. She fought the urge to beat him senseless and got up to leave.

People were actively staring now. She'd made it halfway to the door before he spoke again. "I also heard that your sister is onboard. Ensign Sylvia Tilly," Katrina stopped dead and turned to face him, shaking with the effort not to fly at him. "Maybe I'll see if she likes me better than her big sister."

THWACK! THUD! Before the bastard could blink, Katrina had picked up the nearest tray and whacked him in the side of the head as hard as she could. He hit the other side of it on the table and fell to the ground. Katrina got on top of him and started punching him in the face, repeatedly. People were shocked, scared of what to do. Katrina barely registered their fear as she pounded away, her own blood pounding in her ears, his blood flowing evermore readily and flying everywhere. Katrina took pleasure in her rage and relished in his pain and terror. She could feel him slipping away, just a few more…

Someone must've called for security, because Katrina suddenly saw a dozen people surrounding her, phasers ready. Immediately, she stopped, put her hands on her head and stepped away. She was immediately tackled to the ground and cuffed, but she didn't care. She was grinning from ear to ear, a flood of serotonin and catharsis flowing throughout her body. She vaguely noticed that she was being taken to the brig, and that people were looking at her with horror on their faces. It seemed that this catharsis had the same effect that intoxication did, in that it blocked out other people's emotions.

The last face she saw was Sylvia's. Although her expression of shock and disgust was noticed by Katrina, it did not have any effect on her whatsoever. After she was in her cell and left alone, Katrina let out a pure, loud, laugh of joy, pent-up energy, anger and sadness. This continued for a while before she slowed down to catch her breath and realised the seriousness of what she'd done. It stopped her for a while; it was almost unbearable to think about going back to real prison, and to leave Sylvia again… Then eventually the image of his blood; both pouring out of his face and spurting across the room coupled with the terror in his eyes managed to return, and Katrina settled for just smiling blissfully with the occasional giggling instead.

She didn't know how long she'd been in there, but she'd slept twice and eaten twice. Her third meal of her stay in the brig was brought to her by Sylvia.

"So, is he dead, then?" Katrina look up at Sylvia from where she was sat, cross-legged on the floor.

"Nope," said Sylvia, looking disapprovingly around Katrina, not at her. Katrina smirked.

"Dammit," Katrina caught her sister's eye, and her scowl.


	5. Chapter 5

If she were to describe the scene, Katrina would've said it was an ironic family reunion. Sylvia would've called it a shit show. The elder brunette was calmly sat cross-legged in a cell in the brig, hands on her knees, looking directly at the younger redhead. Her counterpart on the other hand, was visibly uncomfortable, pulling at her fingers as if she was unsure of what to with them. She was trying her best not to look at her sister, but every now and then would adjust her gaze and glance at her, momentarily making eye contact. It was a while before either of them talked. Eventually, Katrina broke the silence.

"I'm surprised you're here. I'm surprised they let you in here with me without a superior officer present." Katrina studied her sister's face, it had been so long since she'd last seen it properly.

"What happened?" Sylvia purposely made eye contact with Katrina.

"It doesn't matter."

"Are you fucking kidding me?! Of course, it matters! You beat a fellow crew member to a bloody pulp and were happy about it. Look at you, you're not even bothered. You could be sent back to prison!"

Katrina bit back. "What do you care? Isn't that what you want? The only thing I've been channelling from you since you saw me is pissed off. I'd have thought you'd be over the moon at me being sent off this ship. For the record, it wasn't my choice to be here."

Sylvia scoffed. "Wow. You actually think I want you locked up in a hole somewhere? I'm pissed because you went to prison and Mum wouldn't let me see you or contact you in any way, then suddenly you're here without any warning, are here for days and don't think to tell me. Then you avoid me for a week and decide to nearly kill someone in the mess hall. So yes, I'm pissed at you. I'm pissed at a lot of people, right now."

"And I'm the only one you can actually yell at. Mum's halfway across the galaxy, three of the officers are basically your bosses and the other's your roommate. So, here we are." Katrina laughed, peaking Sylvia's attention, and irritation.

"What?"

"I'm just realising, Mum never told you the truth."

"Truth? About what?"

"I'd thought she'd have stopped protecting me by now. She wasn't the one that prevented you from contacting me. I told her not to let you." Sylvia looked at her sister in horror. "Believe it or not, I didn't want you to be held back by me being in prison. Honestly, I think I was right. Look at you. You were fast-tracked through the academy. You're the youngest person to be accepted into the command training program, you're serving on a science research vessel. You're doing everything you ever wanted to do."

Sylvia was taken aback. She found her voice. "You think you get the credit for that? For me? You murdered your friend and went to prison! I was left with our mother! I got the hell out as fast as I bloody could! You can't take credit for something you weren't there for! I got this far despite you both, not because of you. My god!"

Katrina smirked at her. Sylvia had come inches away from the containment field of her sister's cell without knowing. She realised and quickly stepped back.

"Why do you think you were able to apply for the Academy in the first place?" Katrina tilted her head, keeping her smirk. Sylvia became perplexed.

"Is this a trick?"

"No. Why do you think you were able to apply for the Academy?" Sylvia opened her mouth to answer, then closed it, unsure of what to say. "I stopped dancing to get a job in an Auto-shop. Mum had to work more. We saved everything we could for years to be able to afford it. So please, next time, think before you tell me what I'm not responsible for."

Sylvia looked at her sister for a long time, trying to discern something from her Katrina's expression. She couldn't. Sylvia left the brig and Katrina was once again alone. Her sister didn't return for five days.

Captain Pike watched from his Ready Room the live feed from the brig. He'd been doing this for days, and Specialist Tilly had kept the same routine all that time. He supposed it was a variation of her prison routine. Every day, she awoke at the same time, and started a workout. She'd do push-ups, sit ups, handstand push-ups against the wall, then various endurance and strength exercises. She always finished with martial arts. Then, after breakfast, she'd meditate for hours until lunch. Afterwards, she'd repeat her morning workout, and meditate again after dinner. The captain watched every day, waiting to see if she did anything different. Even after Ensign Tilly had gone to the brig, the Specialist still didn't change her routine. He found her inscrutable. He continued watching, and five days later, he saw something.

Katrina was doing handstand push-ups when Sylvia came into the brig again. She paused momentarily, then carried on. Sylvia waited for her to finish. Katrina returned to the cross-legged position she'd been in during her sister's first visit.

"I didn't think you'd come back," Katrina stated, looking Sylvia in the eyes.

"Neither did I," Sylvia was, once again, avoiding her sister's gaze.

"Why did you?"

"I don't know. It hurt for a long time. You left me alone," Katrina looked confused. "I know rationally you didn't, but that's how it felt, how it still feels."

Katrina scoffed. "You think I don't know that? Me. The person who literally feels other people's emotions. Really?"

"Okay, can you stop that? Can you let me process and express my emotions? It has nothing to do with whether you can feel it or not, I need you to understand why it felt that way. I never had Mum the way you did. Then suddenly I didn't have you. You didn't tell me why you murdered somebody, you didn't let me in, and you kept trying to telepathically regulate my feelings about it. Then I was left with just Mum, possibly the most withdrawn and emotionally stunted person in the galaxy." Sylvia looked at her sister, wanting some kind of reaction. Katrina didn't give her one.

"I don't know what you want me to say. I'm sorry for making you feel that way, I really am, but honestly, if I could do it all again, I would do the same thing. There are reasons for everything that happened and-"

"Then tell me!" Sylvia cut her off. "Why won't you just tell me the truth?! I'm not 17 anymore. I'm not a kid!"

"I can't. I just can't. I know you want to know everything, but please, just trust that it's for the best that you don't." Katrina tried to make eye-contact with Sylvia, but she wouldn't meet her gaze.

"You know what? This was a mistake; I shouldn't have come back."

Sylvia left without another word. Katrina went to the back of her cell and laid facing the wall, and away from the security camera. Away from the constant surveillance, even just slightly, Katrina allowed herself to feel everything. She hadn't fully released her emotions in years, not since her father left – unable to cope with Katrina's ability and the resultant openness in which the family were forced to live, but the secrecy in which Katrina and Sylvia lived with each other.

Katrina allowed herself to feel over a decade of emotion that day and didn't move from that position for two days. Not until Captain Pike came to see her for the first time.


	6. Chapter 6

As Captain Pike made his way through the corridors en-route to the Brig, passing many crew members who greeted him with "Captain", he tried to regulate his emotions, knowing that his newest crew member would pick up on them. He entered the turbo-lift and found Saru already inside.

"Brig. Morning Saru," Pike addressed his first officer, aware of his eyes boring into him. "Yes, Saru?" He clenched his jaw and looked up at the Kelpien.

"Captain, may I enquire as to the reason for your visit to the Brig? Is our newest, um, guest returning to prison?" Saru was hopeful, ever since the incident in the canteen, his threat ganglia had been riled at the mere idea of entering the Brig, and now was no exception. Something that Cristopher Pike noticed.

"Not yet Mr Saru, not until I've reviewed all of the facts."

"Forgive me Sir, but we have one crewmember in sickbay recovering from a nearly fatal attack, and the person responsible in the Brig. We also have dozens of witnesses. I fail to see what facts we are missing."

"Do you not believe the fact our new 'guest' as you put it is an Empath may have influenced the situation? Because personally, I believe there's more than meets the eye here," the doors opened and as Saru was leaving, he turned to the Captain and asked, "Captain, is there anything about this woman that you are failing to disclose to me?"

Pike thought for a moment and said "Yes, Mr Saru, I am," the doors then closed on a rather baffled Saru, and Captain Christopher Pike made the rest of his journey in silence.

He entered the Brig and saw his newest Specialist in the same position she'd been in the past two days. Upon his entrance, she stirred, sensing him enter.

"You've not eaten for two days," stared at the back of her head. Katrina Tilly didn't move. "I don't want to send you back to prison. But I need to know what happened in the canteen."

At this point, Katrina took a deep breath and sat up to face the Captain. She didn't return to her meditative cross-legged position though. Pike could see her eyes were red with crying, and for the first time since she arrived on the ship, he felt like he could see her properly. He saw someone in pain. He saw someone who looked exhausted.

"We spoke, I bashed his head in until he was nearly dead, I'm glad I did it and many people saw me. Ta-da! Mystery solved. So, send me back to prison and we can both get on with our lives like none of this happened."

"Do you really believe that being locked up in that box for longer that you need to be was a life? Because I don't think you do. You weren't living, you were existing."

"I had five years left. You had no right to take me out of there. You had no right."

"I am a Starfleet captain and you were wrongly imprisoned, so when I had the opportunity to do something I did it."

Katrina lost it. "You had no right to put your crew, my sister in danger like that! You know that I murdered my best friend, and decided to bring me aboard your crew, I then nearly murdered a member of your crew! Why are you so determined to be right?!"

She felt his calmness, he had no misgivings towards her. Then she felt it. Peeking out, slowly taking over until she felt waves of his second-hand sorrow and pity, so much pity, and then she knew why. Why he plucked her from her cell and brought her to see the stars. And she hated it.

"How? Who else knows?"

"When I was approached about having you onboard, I was provided with your file. Unredacted."

"Who. Else Knows."

"Commanders Stamets, Saru and Burnham know it was self-defence, but they don't know anything else. Now, I need to know what happened in the canteen."

Katrina turned away from him and stood up. She took a moment to collect herself and turned to the Pike. She studied him, and he held her gaze. She didn't know what to tell him, or how much. If she told the truth, she'd either be released, or be confined to quarters for fear of danger to others crew members. If she said nothing, the Captain would've no choice but to send her back to prison, possibly with an extended sentence and both she and the outside world would be safe from her. And then she thought of Sylvia, of how hurt she felt when Katrina told her that it was her, not their mother keeping her away, and of how much she missed out on in her sister's life whilst in prison. Katrina made up her mind, took a deep breath and began.

As Katrina talked, Pike listened intently, surprised, unnerved, saddened, disturbed and angry. He felt uncomfortable that he had allowed a person with those thoughts and intentions on his ship, and felt a partial blame, having a duty of care over his crew. He clung to her every word, knowing that it must be very hard for her to tell him these things.

"It felt like his emotions, his intentions, were my own. When someone's that intense, that, overwhelming, the line of where they stop, and you begin becomes hard to distinguish. I could feel his urges under my skin, his lust burning in my body. I tried to leave, but…" She stopped. She had become so immersed in recounting and – to some extent – reliving the experience, she'd slightly forgotten that she'd have to get to this bit. Pike studied her, intrigued and worried as to why she stopped.

Katrina questioned whether or not she should continue. She in turn, studies Pike, taking in his reactions and trying to gauge is next one. She looked him dead in the eye, then continued.

"He said he'd go and try it with Sylvia. That's when I attacked him. I knew exactly what he was going to do, and I wasn't going to let that happen," Katrina finished and held the Captain's gaze, even though it was killing her to do so. He, in turn, held hers as long as he could, then broke away, clenching his jaw, not realising that he'd been stood ramrod straight, not moving an inch the whole time. He walked around the brig for about 30 seconds, although to the both of them it seemed like an eternity, him looking at the floor, her eyes fixed, following.

He stopped, clenched his jaw, momentarily questioning his decision, then turned to face her and released her from the cell. She looked at him in disbelief. He unclenched his jaw and looked at her. She did not move, but studied his face feeling his calmness, his collectedness. Although she could track the progress of his emotions, she still couldn't understand the lack of doubt in him, or even more surprisingly, the trust she sensed. Trust. It was something she hadn't felt from someone in such a long time. For even before her conviction, once a person learned of her abilities, they suddenly became distant, more calculated, more suspicious, simply because they couldn't be.

"Why?" Katrina asked, sceptically. Now it was her turn to be suspicious, guarded. In her experience, people were rarely surprising, more likely predictable, and usually acted more coldly, especially towards someone with an advantage.

"I may not be an empath, or somewhat telepathic, but I like to think I have a pretty good judge of character, and I don't think someone would have opened up like that if they thought they had any chance of proving their innocence. I think you thought that you had no chance of staying on this ship, so you told the truth in completion, which is exactly why I'm letting you stay. You have honesty, integrity, qualities too rare in this world, but which I admire. Especially in someone who's not usually on the receiving end of those things." Katrina still didn't move. "What, you'd rather stay in the brig?"

"It would be easier. I read about you captain. In prison. While the war was raging on, you were ordered to stay out of it. You were tasked with waiting. You didn't disobey, you stayed put, followed the rules. Yet here you are, allowing me to remain on your ship despite all the evidence that I should be sent right back to prison. Acting in flagrant violation to the procedures of the Federation, what I expect is the opinion of 1st Officer and the overwhelming majority of your crew. I'm sceptical. But here is better than the inside of a cell," She left the cell and stood next to him.

"Really?"

"Marginally," He raised his eyebrows. She smiled. "Your crew aren't going to like this, Captain."

"No. And, they're your crew too, now," He led her towards the door. She followed close behind.

"We'll see sir."

As they left the brig, Katrina started to feel a little less weary. She did not trust the captain still, who could tell if his act of kindness had been a fluke, or a consistent personality trait. But some of the uneasiness she had felt left her, but she had a feeling it would be short-lived, especially once the rest of the crew found out.


End file.
